2 minute read
CEO's Initiative
Heidi McCutcheon Chamber President/CEO
Serving Mason County since 1922, the Chamber is a catalyst for business growth, a convener of leaders and influencers, and a champion of our community.
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Within my office and at the Board meetings, we say the three C’s regularly (Catalyst, Convener, Champion). Within the Chamber world, industry leaders describe a three P’s organization (Pageants, Parades, and Pancake breakfasts) or a three C’s Chamber. A three P’s Chamber is how many of us recall the Chambers of the 1980s: throwing events, fundraising, a ‘good old boy’s club.’ Not necessarily a bad thing, but not something working to affect change.
On the other hand, a three C’s Chamber is one which actively engages with leadership and government stakeholders, taking part in a two-way conversation on a multitude of topics and changes. An instance of this is the conversations we’ve had about the sign ordinances that the City Council is adopting. We’ve had great communication with the city manager, and he has taken many of our suggestions into consideration and worked them into the code.
Another ‘C’ initiative that we have recently undertaken is the creation of CEO roundtables. In the midst of the pandemic, a community leader shared with me that they had not had the ability to connect with other leaders and build strong relationships. This led to the Chamber convening roundtables where leaders in similar roles had a chance to network with one another in smaller, consistent environment. The first two groups are comprised of those in leadership with more than 200 employees and those leaders work on behalf of a board. Both groups will begin meeting monthly in the next few weeks.
We plant to implement several other roundtables and are currently considering multigenerational businesses and owners in the trades. If you are a leader looking to convene with others, please reach out! We plan to institute more roundtables as they are called for. After a century of promoting our business community, we know that the only thing that stays the same in business is change.
